The ultimate checklist: 10 top tips for writing great copy

Guest post from the College of Media and Publishing.

We are in a competitive environment where an article can cost as little as 30 pence!

So, you must know how to write a good copy before thinking of making this your living.

Many people struggle to write good copy.

If that’s you, you are not the only one with this dilemma.

“How to write good copy” is a very sought-after keyword on Google.

Writing good copy is mostly being able to persuade your readers that what they are reading is somehow useful.

Useful can be anything from procuring amusement to giving practical instructions.

Planning how to persuade your readers is certainly one of the most important phases of writing, and cannot be overlooked.

Apart from being persuasive, there are other elements that beautify your copy.

You should ensure these 10 key factors are utilised in the best way.

How to write good copy? Here are 10 must-consider aspects from our online copywriting course:

1. The context.

Think of the overall context of your writing, particularly: where is your content is going to be featured? Who is your audience? What do you want to tell the readers?

If you realise that your copy doesn’t fit your requirements, you should make some tweaks; there is nothing worse than content not achieving its mission.

2. The title.

The title is the first and perhaps the only thing that your readers will see.

You must convince them to continue reading.

A good way to be persuasive is to use attractive words such as “Fantastic” or numbers or lists etc.

Remember to keep headlines short, straight and to the point.

3. First sentence.

This is your hook, as important as the title, the first sentence of your copy must be seductive and gain interest from your readers.

A good way to achieve this is to present facts or stimulate curiosity by proposing a question.

Try to detach yourself and work out a way to sound compelling.

4. Punctuation.

Adding many full stops is the recipe for success.

Don’t overcomplicate sentences.

Keep it simple and let the readers breathe by using commas.

5. Bold/italic.

Formatting the text in the right way will enhance its readability.

Use bold and italics to stress key facts and to help the readers follow the flow of your story.

Don’t forget that Google word search also loves them.

6. Paragraphs.

Instead of creating a block of text, try splitting your article or blog into smaller paragraphs.

By doing this you will improve readability and also the overall aesthetics.

7. Curiosity.

It is this important element that makes your story interesting. From the beginning, you should be trying to entice the reader and capture their attention.

8. Facts.

Together with curiosity the ‘showing off’ of facts is fundamental.

Showcase at least one fact to support your argument at the beginning of your story, as this will serve to give you the much-needed authority.

9. Words.

“I always thought of words as art supplies.” (Douglas Coupland).

Choosing the right words is necessary to establish your authority in the field.

Remember also to pick unusual and less heard of words to give your copy an original flair.

10. Keywords.

If you are writing for the web, presence and position of words for which you want to be found on Search Engines is primary.

The right keywords should be selected and used appropriately.

Even if you are not writing for the web it is still important that the keywords are repeated throughout, and this repetition will stress your argument thus helping readers to memorise the main concepts.

If your copy has passed all the ten points of this checklist, it is ready to be published and has a good chance of being good copy.

If it hasn’t, then consider our copywriting course – it has put hundreds of people on the path to good careers.

Find out more about the College of Media and Publishing HERE.

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Posted by NewryTimes News on Jun 14 2020. Filed under Advertising Feature, Business, Community, Featured Story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry